Kafeel Khan released from jail at midnight

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh): Dr. Kafeel Khan, who had been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, was released around midnight.

Khan's lawyer Irfan Ghazi said, "The Mathura jail administration informed us at 11.00 p.m. that Dr. Kafeel Khan is being released around midnight, he walked out of jail."

The Allahabad High Court had quashed his detention under the National Security Act and ordered his immediate release.

Khan was in jail since January after he delivered an allegedly provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in December last year.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh, passed the order on a petition filed by Khan's mother Nuzhat Parveen.

The petition argued that Khan was granted bail in February by a competent court and he was supposed to be released on bail.

However, he was not released for four days and the NSA was subsequently invoked against him. Hence, his detention was illegal, the petition stated.